Youth and Provider Perspectives on Behavior-Tracking Mobile Apps: Qualitative Analysis

Area of Science:

• Digital mental health
• Adolescent and young adult psychology
• Clinical intervention technologies

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer potential for enhancing evidence-based mental health interventions for youth.
• Understanding youth and provider perspectives is crucial for successful implementation of mHealth in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore youth and provider perspectives on using mobile apps in evidence-based clinical care.
• Specifically focused on gathering insights regarding behavior-tracking mobile applications.

Main Methods:

• Conducted inductive qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with 10 youths (psychotherapy recipients) and 12 mental health providers.
• Employed multiple coders and consensus meetings to ensure reliability of data analysis.

Main Results:

• Youth and providers agreed on the benefits of app-based behavior tracking, noting its potential for increased enjoyment and accessibility.
• Shared concerns included potential negative emotions and user burden limiting app engagement.
• Suggested features for optimal app integration: pleasant UI, client reminders, and graphical data output for users and clinicians.

Conclusions:

• Mobile health integration in psychotherapy shows promise for accessible and easy behavior tracking.
• Both youth and providers expressed concerns regarding the potential for increased client and provider burden with app implementation.